Patisserie Valerie is set to expand

Premium café chain Patisserie Valerie is on target to have 125 stores by 2013, with at least six opening this year.

Shops in Leeds, Bath, and London will soon follow those recently launched in Cambridge and Canterbury and the firm is in negotiations to open even more in 2010.

There are already 29 Patisserie Valerie shops out of a total of 68 owned by Patisserie Holdings, which also includes stores under the Druckers and Baker & Spice brand.

It has also opened two franchised Patisserie Valerie stores in Dubai and two in Bahrain, and expects to have 15 in the Middle East in the next two years.

The company is owned by Risk Capital Partners, which is bankrolling the expansion said CEO Paul May. The fact the brand was well-known in London had resulted a good response when opening in new locations, while it did not have a direct competitor, which also helped, he explained. “We sell affordable treats and don’t rush people out. We also haven’t changed our offer outside London.”

He added that there was no reason for the company not to continue opening new stores, but that finding sites was the biggest issue. “I’m very disciplined about costs and we look to open in reasonably affluent locations.”